Posts filed under ‘environment’

I’d like to direct your attention to an article that was just posted on Inhabitat. Some of these pictures almost make me hope the ridiculous claims that global warming fanatics make come true. These are some gorgeous pics.

The good news about the components of this plan is that it’s a good place to start thinking about how urban areas will be organized in the future. While algae ponds and vertical farms might be a little far-fetched, the ideas of short-term-use cars and new high-tech forms of mass transit are things that leaders should start looking at and implementing yesterday. I really love the idea of a pod car beacuse it allows people to maintain that feeling of being in control of their transportation, but it limits that use to a certain area, more specifically the area that we travel the most, which usually includes short trips to shopping, dining, nightlife, or work.

While a lot of these ideas are almost sci-fi in nature, there are many things here that are great for the urban area of today. Car pods (lol, a boy can hope), rainwater collection, wide use of solar energy, and focused and efficient mass transit are all things all cities (large and small) should be looking at right now.

Yesterday, The Daily Galaxy had this article about the apparent trash continent forming in the Pacific Ocean. After reading some of the things mentioned in this article, I have a hard time believing this isn’t getting the same level of attention as greenhouse gasses.

For example, this quote from Clean Up The World founder Ian Kiernan is especially disturbing:

“It was just filled with things like furniture, fridges, plastic containers,
cigarette lighters, plastic bottles, light globes, televisions and fishing
nets,” Kiernan says. “It’s all so durable it floats. It’s just a major
problem.”

Now, greenhouse gasses and global warming might be problems, but large appliances floating in our oceans is definitely a problem, and one that needs immediate attention.

The article also mentions the amazing quantity of plastic bags located in the plastic continent, which release toxins when they break down, especially scary because these toxins are finding their way into the food that humans eat. My parents always told us not to throw plastics onto bonfires, but apparently throwing them into the ocean to poison fish is OK.

This may not be totally a problem though. If the continent gets large enough and solid enough, we might just be able to move people onto it. Since the ice caps are going to melt and flood our major cities (or so Al Gore wants us to think), a continent that floats and changes with the tides may be just the solution we need.

In all seriousness, this is a problem that could have some very good benefits. A whole industry could come to life to fix it, and frankly, it would take an entire industry to fix it. Much money could be made recycling that plastic and selling that old furniture, and there’s probably enough out there to ensure we wouldn’t have to make any new plastics for many years.

Next time you’re filling up your gas tank, shedding tears over the rising prices, try to think about who is really to blame for your empty wallet. Gas companies, federal officials, or overseas suppliers can be easy targets, and glamorous ones in the media, but they aren’t the ones to point fingers at.

The fingers should be pointed back at ourselves, the consumers, who despite what we’re paying for gasoline, still continue to buy it. What reason do gas companies have to lower prices when we’re just as happy to pay 4 dollars as opposed to 2 or 3?

Next, point the finger at your county government, which can’t seem to understand that development further from centers of population means one thing: more driving.

Give kudos to your city government, which at least created a buzz around the benefits of moving closer to the city center (Lower Town, Fountain Ave). Don’t praise them too much, though, because they’ve failed miserably at providing adequate public transportation and bike lanes.

Here’s the solution: we all have got to start demanding alternatives to driving, and our local officials have to start offering them. Citizens must demand an adequate and convenient bus system that would combine resources from city and county governments. We must demand bike lanes on all major roads. We must not vote for any official that will not promise these things and work hard to deliver them.

More than anything we must change ourselves and stop allowing new development that stretches further into the county. There should be a mass migration to denser areas of the city, where jobs and residence are located closer together and mass transit is available and convenient.

So I’ve been listening to the candidates lately, and there really isn’t one that I agree with totally, though John McCain will most likely be the lesser of evils come election day.

If I personally could create a party/candidate, here’s what they’d stand for (in quasi- order of importance):

Support of NAFTA, as well as free trade with any country that would agree to it with us.

Support of global free labor movement, which would allow US workers to go where the jobs are, and allow foreign workers to come clean up our shit, or whatever illegal immigrants do here these days. This would probably make US goods cheaper and make the value of the dollar go up a little.

Support for English as the official US language.

Pro-choice.

Someone who would make it illegal to have laws based on any sort of lifestyle choice. (AKA, the government has no place deciding if it’s right or wrong to be gay)

Every grade K-12 should be harder, faster paced, and better tested.

Failing schools should be the ones getting the money (never thought I’d be against vouchers, but I guess I’ve come around)

Social security should be abolished starting for anyone younger than 35. Not paying the taxes for it alone would save us all a lot of money.

Abolish the minimum wage. Or at least scale it to allow employers to pay workers based on their skills. A new worker in a new field (usually teens) doesn’t give 7 dollars worth of productivity to a firm. This would do wonders for unemployment, as well as allowing people to increase their training and skills.

Two words: fair taxation. Tax me based on what I consume rather than taking money away when I produce.

Eliminate earmarking in federal bills. States can earmark all they want. Better yet, have people pay a tax based on how much their representative gets for their district. They don’t want to pay the tax? Get a representative that won’t earmark for them.

Totally overhaul the energy policy of the US. At least 50% of US energy should be renewable by 2025.

CAFE standards should be 50 MPG at the very least.

It should be illegal for the government to bail out any company that is stuggling.

If Iraq is still on the agenda in 2010, we should spend 500 billion dollars to bomb the living hell out of every place that could conceivably have a terrorist, then pay for food and water and some infrastructure and never go back with the military unless it’s a UN decision.

So that’s just a list of what I can think of right now. I think the person that rolled out that agenda wouldn’t make it past the first debate, but hey, a boy can wish, right?